Microsoft has pulled the plug on its disappointing Zune music platform, which was the company’s main competitive offering against Apples iTunes. The Zune device, some of which included FM HD Radio (Zune HD) has been discontinued for a while now.
In announcements made 6/4 at the E3 games conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft executives said the company planned to introduce a new music service, Xbox Music, that would run on the Xbox 360 game console, Windows phones and Windows 8 computers. That service will come out sometime in the fall.
A Microsoft spokeswoman, Melissa Stewart, told The NY Times that the Zune brand is going away so Microsoft can use the better-known Xbox brand for its entertainment services, including its online video service.
Stewart said Zune Music customers who created playlists using the old service would still have access to those songs through the new Xbox Music service.
Microsoft introduced Zune back in 2006. Zune was both a music-playing device like the iPod and an iTunes-like service that allowed people to load their Zune players with music.
After Microsoft discontinued the Zune line of music players and the brand lived on as a music and video service for Xbox and the Windows Phone OS.
